NEW ORLEANS – Jesse Palmer last night wasn’t the reason why the Giants were humiliated 45-7 by the Saints. Palmer, in his first NFL start, was surely nothing special, but he also had virtually no help as the offense continued to sag down the stretch of a terrible season.

Palmer (15 of 26, 140 yards, 1 TD) avoided any glaring mistakes and actually made a few plays subbing for Kerry Collins, who stood passively on the sideline with a sprained ankle.

Palmer’s best moments came early in the second quarter when he scrambled 26 yards and completed the lone scoring drive with a 4-yard TD pass to rookie tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. Palmer thrust both arms in the air after his first NFL touchdown pass.

“He did all right, considering some things,” Jim Fassel said.

“I felt like I saw the field real well,” Palmer said. “I thought we were able to move the ball a lot but we just weren’t able to get it in the end zone. For my first start I felt pretty good.”

Palmer also said, “Obviously it’s a bad loss and it’s tough to stomach.”

Knowing they had to spice things up with Palmer at the controls to have a chance, the Giants later in the second quarter hit big on a trick play when on a double-reverse flea-flicker, Palmer connected for 39 yards with rookie David Tyree to the Saints’ 14-yard line.

Fassel said he’ll start Palmer again next week in Dallas if Collins isn’t healthy enough to return.

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Tiki Barber had another fumble, his ninth of the season, but the Giants recovered . . . Brian Mitchell lost his first fumble of the season . . . Giants were 1 of 9 on third-down conversions and were outgained 440-241 . . . The Giants were out-gained 111-18 in the first quarter.

The Giants had a rough trip just getting here. The New Orleans airport was fogged in and closed for much of Saturday afternoon, forcing the Giant charter to abort an attempted landing and divert to Mobile, Ala. The team then boarded four buses for the two-hour ride, arriving about 9 p.m.